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All employers are required to inform employees who are returning to work following the birth of a child about their right to take unpaid leave for the purpose of pumping breast milk. As an employer, you can inform your employees of this right by putting up a public poster in the worksite, putting the information in the employee handbook, or notifying your employees individually in writing.

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Employers must allow employees who are nursing mothers to take breaks at least once every three hours to pump breast milk. Employees can take these breaks right before or after their regularly scheduled paid break or meal periods – for example, an employee can take a thirty minute lunch break and then take a twenty minute break to pump breast milk directly after her lunch break, for a total of fifty minutes.

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Employers are required to let employees who are nursing mothers work before or after their normal shifts to make up for the break time they take to pump breast milk, as long as that time falls within the employer’s normal work hours.

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Employers do not have to pay employees who are nursing mothers for the break time they take to pump breast milk. Employees have the option of using their regular paid break or meal time to pump breast milk, but they are not required to do so. Employers must continue to pay any customarily paid regular break time for an employee who pumps breast milk.

Q: What are the Requirements of Employers Regarding a Place to Pump Breast Milk?

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Employers are required to provide employees with a private room or other location close to the employee’s work area where they can pump breast milk, unless it would be extremely difficult for an employer to do so. If the employer can’t provide a dedicated lactation room, a temporarily vacant room may be used instead. As a last resort, a cubicle can be used, but it must be fully enclosed with walls at least seven feet tall. You should consult with the Division of Labor Standards if you believe you cannot provide any place for an employee to pump breast milk.

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The place where employees pump breast milk must contain a chair and small table or other flat surface. The Department of Labor encourages employers to provide, in addition, an electrical outlet, clean water supply, and access to a refrigerator where nursing mothers can store pumped milk.

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The room or place provided by the employer cannot be open to other employees, customers, or members of the public while an employee is pumping breast milk. It should have a door with a functional lock, or in the case of a cubicle, a sign warning the location is in use and not accessible to others.

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Employers may not discriminate or retaliate in any way against any employee who chooses to pump breast milk in the workplace or who files a complaint with the Department of Labor. The Department takes allegations of retaliation very seriously and will investigate promptly.

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Recent amendments to the Fair Labor Standards Act also protect the rights of nursing mothers to pump breast milk at work. For more information, contact the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor at 1-866-4USWAGE.